Grey
by geddafkouttahere
Summary: Nick hates Ellis. Mildly bizzare one-shot


I don't know, dont' ask  
Characters belong to Valve

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Nick was alone in the locker, he'd put himself there with a bad leg and bullets were getting sparse. He figured he was probably running a fever from the pain; it was hard to think straight without any pills to cool his being for a bit. He let his head loll to the side, his mouth slack as he fell into an uncomfortable sleep.

When Nick was nine, his father had inherited a cat from Nick's late grandmother, amongst other old lady paraphernalia. They gave the cat to Nick, and he loathed the thing with a bitter hatred, mostly because it wasn't friendly; it bit and scratched him too much. His parents treated him a lot like they treated the cat, Nick reflected one day while rubbing down some scratches with alcohol. It was at a time when the cat was in heat that Nick realized this dazing conclusion, both he and the cat needed to be fixed, in their own different ways of course. Nick knew he'd never get what he needed from his parents, "We're in the same boat here kitty" and the cat just hissed at him while he rifled through his mothers jewelry; he was looking for something good to sell. But then, aside from its animosity, the stupid thing wouldn't stop with its ungodly yowling at the window, it kept the already restless Nick awake; so he did what he could only think of doing. Saturday morning, while his parents were eating breakfast by themselves, Nick grabbed the thing by the scruff of its neck and hauled it down the street to the park. A band was playing softly in the public Gazebo, people had laid down blankets in the morning sun to listen and Nick who did not look out of place, managed to slink by unnoticed. He brought the cat down to the river side and looked deeply into its grey eyes, when it opened its mouth to howl at him, he plunged it into the dark cooling water and did not let go until it had quit moving. He trudged home; the sleeve of his shirt was muddy so when his mother did not ask, he did a load of laundry himself to avoid staining it. Three weeks had passed, when on the rare occasion of a family dinner occurred, his mother wondered to him about the cat "Have you seen it around Nicolas?" he stared her down so blankly that visible goose bumps began to form on her otherwise smooth skin. Nick noticed this quickly and had himself a private smile later on, but for now he told the truth "That stupid thing needed to be fixed so badly, I drowned it in the river to put it out of its god damn misery."  
His mother replied "That was your grandmother's cat Nick-" in a hushed tone before his father pounded the table with his fists, Nick and his mother winced in unison "I'll show you a fixing, boy."

Nick woke to the sound of his name being called by a familiar voice, not one he was expecting and not one he'd have liked to hear. "Shit" he muttered into the darkness, "Ellis! Ellis, I'm in here Overalls!" there was pounding at the door in response "Nick? That you in there?" and the door broke. It revealed a very tired looking Ellis, whose dusty face was red with fury but his cheeks were tear streaked, revealing a frustrated sentiment for the occasion. Nick had never seen Ellis so furious "Holy shit Nick, what the hell was you thinkin'? I've been wandering around all day alone lookin' for you. You can't just go run off like that. Scared the piss outta me, you did. Gotta stick together-" Ellis hefted Nick over his shoulder "- till we find Ro and Coach again. Look at you, gone and got yourself an injury. I swear next time I'll leave you to die." Nick rolled his eyes at the empty threat "What were you trying to do to out here without me anyways?" Ellis nagged as he pulled Nick along like a broken toy. _Trying to get the fuck away from you, dipshit, _Nick replied sharply in his head. "It's not important, didn't work anyways so forget about it Ellis." Ellis turned and looked at Nick, his brow furrowed, his grey eyes piercing Nick's dulled blue orbs "Don't think I don't know you hate me Nick."


End file.
